Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada

Identity area

Identifier

ON00279

Authorized form of name

Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada

Parallel form(s) of name

Other form(s) of name

  • The Sisters of St. Joseph of Hamilton
  • The Sisters of St. Joseph of the Diocese of London, in Ontario
  • The Sisters of St. Joseph of the Diocese of Peterborough in Ontario
  • The Sisters of St. Joseph for the Diocese of Pembroke in Canada
  • Sisters of Saint Joseph

Type

  • Religious Organization

Contact area

 

Mary Grace Kosta

Type

Address

Street address

485 Windermere Road P.O. Box 487

Locality

London

Region

Ontario

Country name

Canada

Postal code

N6A 4X3

Telephone

519-432-3781 ext. 404

Fax

519- 432-8557

Email

Note

Description area

History

The Sisters of St. Joseph of the Diocese of Hamilton was first incorporated on December 30, 1879 under chapter 167 of the Revised Statutes of Ontario, 1877. The name was changed to The Sisters of St. Joseph of Hamilton in 1989. The Sisters of St. Joseph of the Diocese of London, in Ontario was first incorporated on February 15, 1891 under chapter 92 of the Statutes of Ontario, 1870-1. The Sisters of St. Joseph of the Diocese of Peterborough was incorporated on May 1, 1893 under chapter 172 of the Revised Statutes of Ontario, 1887. The Sisters of St. Joseph for the Diocese of Pembroke in Canada was first incorporated by letters patent dated January 21, 1922 under the Ontario Companies Act.

These four congregations were amalgamated into one charitable corporation under the name Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada by the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada Act, a Private Act of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario which received Royal Assent on June 13, 2013.

Geographical and cultural context

The main office of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada is in Peterborough, Ontario. The Congregation also has offices in Burlington and London. The consolidated archives is located in London, Ontario.

Mandates/Sources of authority

The consolidated archives is a private, religious archives which is under the jurisdiction of the Congregational Leadership. There is a mission statement and policy manual for the archives.

Administrative structure

The consolidated archives is part of the business administration. The Congregational Archivist reports to the Congregational Leadership. There are business administration offices in Peterborough, Ancaster, and London. As well as business administration, there are other departments to serve each convent, including Maintenance and Housekeeping; Food Services; Care Centre; and Local House leadership.

Records management and collecting policies

The goal of the archives is to collect past and present records of congregational members and institutions engaged in work that reflects the charism of the congregation from 1852 to the present. These records reflect the development of the congregation, the conduct of its affairs as a corporation, and the personal lives of its members and those served through its various ministries. It is the goal of the archives to make these records accessible to the public unless there are restrictions placed on the records by the donor or for reasons of privacy or sensitivity of the records.

All records created by the formerly separate congregations of Hamilton, London, and Pembroke, prior to November 18, 2012, are kept physically and intellectually separate from the records created by the amalgamated congregation. These records, along with the records of the amalgamated congregation, are kept in the consolidated archives in London. The Peterborough archive retains records created prior to November 18, 2012, as well as records of deceased Sisters from Peterborough, temporarily, until this archive is consolidated.

Buildings

The consolidated archives contains the business records of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada from November 18, 2012 onward. It also contains the records of the Hamilton, London, and Pembroke archives which have been consolidated with the main archives.

The archives is located in a LEED gold certified building built in 2007, which is brick with steel studding and which has a flat membrane roof with reflective coating. The archives comprises 450 linear feet of archival and special collections. Approximately 549 linear feet of archival collections are also stored off-site in a records storage facility in London, Ontario.

The Peterborough archive is located in a LEED gold certified building built in 2009 which is steel and concrete with a flat rubber membrane roof. The archives comprises 291 linear feet of archival collections. This archives has not yet been consolidated with the main archives.

Holdings

Highlights of the Hamilton archive include records of St. Mary's Orphanage, Mount St. Joseph Centre, missions in Guatemala and Jamaica, the House of Providence and St. Joseph's Villa, Bethany House, St. Joseph's Spirituality Centre, and many other ministries carried out by the Sisters. There are extensive administrative and decision making records as well as artifacts.

Highlights of the London archive include annals of missions across Canada; records of the Mount Saint Joseph Orphanage; Mount Saint Joseph Academy; and St. Joseph's School of Music. There are also records of hospitals in Galahad, Killam, Stettler and Rimbey, Alberta; Chatham and Sarnia, Ontario; and St. Joseph's Hospital and School of Nursing in London, Ontario. Included among the community annals are records for many convents and ministries such as Josephs' House for Refugees; St. Joseph's Hospitality Centre; and the Detox Centre.

Highlights of the Peterborough archive include records relating to the Peterborough congregation’s ministries, primarily in health care and education in Ontario and western Canada, as well as in Brazil. Holdings include community annals, photographs and some artifacts.

Highlights of the Pembroke archive include photographs, artifacts, and annals, including of the mission in Peru, and St. Mary's Teachers' College in Chapeau, Quebec.

Finding aids, guides and publications

All our published finding aids are licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada. (2018). The St. Joseph Motherhouse Chapel, Hamilton, Ontario. Hamilton. 43 p

Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada. (2017). Immaculate Conception Chapel. London. 106 p

Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada. (2016). The Sisters of St. Joseph-Historical Windsor Sites. London. 107 p.

Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada. (2014). The Sisters of St. Joseph: Historical London Sites. London. 64 p

Sisters of St.Joseph. (1993). As The Tree Grows. Celebrating 100 Years Of The Sisters Of St. Joseph Peterborough 1890 – 1990. Peterborough. 492 p

Sisters of St. Joseph (1971). The Congregation of Sisters of St. Joseph of Pembroke 1921-1971. Pembroke, ON: Donald F. Runge. 236 p

Access area

Opening times

The main consolidated archives is open by appointment only.

Closed on public holidays.

Any visits to the main archives must be arranged in advance with the Congregational Archivist.

The neighborhood archives in Hamilton, London, Peterborough and Pembroke are now closed. Inquiries should be directed to the Congregational Archivist.

Access conditions and requirements

Researchers may submit a reference inquiry by contacting the archives and completing a Reference Agreement form and a Request for Reproduction form. There is a $25 fee for each reference inquiry.

The archives will strive to follow best practices set forth under provincial and federal privacy legislation even when not governed by this legislation. Records containing personal information are restricted according to best practices as per the provincial Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, Personal Health Information Protection Act, and federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. The archives reserves the right to restrict access to the collection depending on the condition of the archival material, the amount of material requested, and the purpose of the research. The use of certain materials may also be restricted for reasons of privacy or sensitivity, or under a donor agreement. Access restrictions will be applied equally to all researchers and reviewed periodically. No researcher will be given access to any materials that contain a personal information bank such as donor agreements or personnel records, or to other proprietary information such as appraisals, insurance valuations, or condition reports.

Copies of textual and photographic records are provided for research purposes only and responsibility for questions of copyright that may arise in their use are assumed by the recipient.

The photographs featured on Archeion come from the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada Archives and, to the best of our knowledge, there are no copyright restrictions associated with them because they are either in the public domain, or the copyright is owned by the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada, or there is no known copyright. These images are intended for private reference and research, and we cannot assume liability for any other use of these photographs. The images on the website are in jpeg format. The images must not be altered or manipulated in any way. The images must not be used for commercial purposes. Proper credit must be given when any image is used, as follows:

Credit:
Images courtesy of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada Archives.

We are committed to observing copyright law. If we have inadvertently infringed on the intellectual property rights of copyright holders with respect to these photographs, please contact us with specific details.

Accessibility

The consolidated archives is located on the 4th floor of 485 Windermere Road, London, ON. There are elevators from the main lobby and wheelchair-accessible facilities near the office. Parking is available in the Scouts parking lot next door to the building. There is public transit with a bus stop across the street from the building.

Services area

Research services

Patrons must complete a Research Agreement before research is undertaken on their behalf by the archivist, or before records are served to them. There is a fee for archives visits, and for research undertaken by the archivist. The archives also has a ready reference collection and a collection of publications and rare books which may be viewed on-site.

Reproduction services

Patrons must complete a Request for Reproduction form before copies of materials are made for them. The archives reserves the right to limit the number of pages copied for a patron. No digital copies will be provided. Copies are only provided for private research and study purposes.

Public areas

Visitors must sign in at the reception desk.

Control area

Description identifier

CA ON00279

Institution identifier

Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

June 19, 2014
August 4, 2022

Language(s)

Script(s)

Sources

Maintenance notes

Access points

Access Points

  • Religion (Thematic area)
  • Education (Thematic area)
  • Arts and Culture (Thematic area)
  • Medicine and Health (Thematic area)
  • Genealogical (Thematic area)
  • Clipboard

Primary contact

485 Windermere Road
P.O. Box 487
London, Ontario
CA N6A 4X3